Additives to impart ultraviolet ("UV") stabilizing properties or antioxidant properties to polymers or to perform as colorants are known. For example, the Uvinul.TM. materials (BASF Corporation, Chemicals Division, Parsippany, N.J.) and the Tinuvin.TM. additives (Ciba-Geigy Corporation, Additives Department, Hawthorne, N.Y.) are ultraviolet stabilizers that are commercially available for use with polymers. Such additives generally are low molecular weight species, and have several problems including poor compatibility with the polymer matrix, poor dispersion into the polymer formulation, migration within the polymer, losses due to volatility of the additive material during processing or use, and leaching into liquids, for instance, when fabrics made of stabilized polymeric fibers are washed.
One method of overcoming this problem is to incorporate stabilizers directly into the polymer; for example, nitroso compounds are directly incorporated into synthetic rubbers, while amine and phenol antioxidants have been grafted onto synthetic elastomers to form masterbatch concentrates which are subsequently blended with pure polymer. Nir and Vogl have disclosed 2-(2-hydroxy-5-vinylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole and polymers thereof as ultraviolet stabilizers in addition polymer systems. Nir, Z., and Vogl, O., Journal of Polymer Science; Polymer Chemistry Edition Vol. 20, pp. 2735-2754 Wiley and Sons, (1982). Similar subject matter is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,099,027; 4,943,637 and 4,812,575. See also Gomez, P. M. and Vogl, O. Polymer Journal, Volume 18, No. 5 pp. 429-437 (1986) which discloses dihydroxy benzotriazole compounds.